Pet grooming tool and method of manufacturing pet grooming tools

ABSTRACT

A pet grooming tool comprises a pet engageable portion formed of polymeric material and having a plurality of teeth. A method of forming a pet grooming tool comprises molding a pet engageable portion out of a first polymeric material and thereafter over-molding a handle portion to the pet engageable portion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to pet grooming tools of the type used to removeloose hair from pets without cutting or pulling non-loose hair from thepets. The disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 7,077,076 entitle “Pet GroomingTool” and issued Jul. 18, 2006, is hereby incorporated in its entiretyby reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect in accordance with the invention, a pet grooming toolcomprises a pet engageable portion and a handle portion. The petengageable portion has a plurality of teeth and is formed of a firstpolymeric material having first tensile yield strength. The handleportion is secured to the pet engageable portion and is formed of asecond polymeric material. The second polymeric material has a secondtensile yield strength that is less than the first tensile yieldstrength.

In a second aspect in accordance with the invention, a pet grooming toolcomprises a pet engageable portion. The pet engageable portion is formedof a polymeric material and has a plurality of teeth arranged in a row.The pet engageable portion comprises a first surface and a plurality ofintersecting surfaces. Each of the intersecting surfaces intersects thefirst surface in a manner forming an acute edge segment. The edgesegments and the teeth alternate with each other along the row. Each ofat least two adjacent teeth of the plurality of teeth comprises a toothsurface. The tooth surface of one of the two adjacent teeth acutelyintersects the tooth surface of the other of the two adjacent teeth.

In a third aspect in accordance with the invention, a method comprisesinjection molding a pet engageable portion of a pet grooming tool out ofa first polymeric material in a manner such that the pet engageableportion comprises a plurality of teeth arranged in a row. The methodfurther comprises placing the pet engageable portion into an injectionmolding cavity. Still further, the method comprises injecting a secondpolymeric material into the mold cavity while the pet engageable portionis in the mold cavity in a manner forming a handle portion out of thesecond polymeric material that is secured to the pet engageable portion.The second polymeric material is different from the first polymericmaterial.

While the principal features of the invention have been described above,a more complete and thorough understanding of the invention may beobtained by referring to the drawing figures and the detaileddescription of the preferred embodiments, which follow.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of a petgrooming tool in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the pet grooming tool shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the pet grooming tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the pet grooming tool shown in FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the pet grooming tool shown in FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the pet engageable portion of the pet groomingtool shown in FIGS. 1-5.

FIG. 7 is a side projection view of the pet engageable portion of thepet grooming tool shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the pet engageable portion of thepet grooming tool shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 taken about the line 8-8 shownin FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the handle and pet engageable portions of thepet grooming tool shown in FIGS. 1-5 shown without the grip portionattached to the handle portion.

Reference numerals in the written specification and in the drawingfigures indicate corresponding items.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A preferred embodiment of a pet grooming tool in accordance with theinvention is shown in FIGS. 1-5 and indicated by reference numeral 10.The pet grooming tool 10 comprises a pet engageable portion 12, a handleportion 14, and a grip portion 16.

The pet engageable portion 12 of the pet grooming tool 10 is formed of apolymeric material, preferably by using an injection molding process.Preferably but not necessarily, the polymeric material that forms thepet engageable portion 12 is either polycarbonate or acetal, which haverelatively high tensile yield strength and good creep resistance ascompared to other less expensive polymeric materials. As shown mostclearly in FIGS. 6-8, the pet engageable portion 12 preferably isgenerally rectangular in shape and preferably comprises a planar rearsurface 18 and a parallel planar front surface 20. Preferably, anarcuate surface 22 of the pet engageable portion 12 extends down fromthe front surface 20 and tapers therefrom toward the rear surface 18.

A plurality of teeth 24 are preferably formed in a row along the bottomof the pet engageable portion 12. Each tooth 24 is preferably bound infront by the arcuate surface 22, in the rear by the rear surface 18 and,except for the first and last teeth in the row, by two tooth sidesurfaces 26. An intersecting surface 28 is preferably formed betweeneach adjacent pair of the teeth 24. Each intersecting surface 28 ispreferably planar and preferably extends from the arcuate surface 22 tothe rear surface 18 in a manner creating an acute horizontal edgesegment 30 with the rear surface. Each edge segment 30 preferably has anedge angle of between forty-five degrees and seventy-five degrees, andmore preferably of approximately sixty degrees.

The tooth side surfaces 26 of each tooth 24 acutely intersect the sidetooth surfaces of each adjacent tooth at the root of the tooth. It isfrom such intersections that the intersecting surfaces 28 extenddownward toward the edge segments 30. The tooth side surfaces 26 of anygiven tooth 24, excluding the first and last teeth 36, also preferablyacutely intersect each other at the tip 32 of said tooth in a mannerforming an acute edge 34 that extends horizontally and generallyperpendicular to the edge segments 30. The tips 32 of the first and lastteeth 36 in the row preferably do not have acute edges. Additionally,the first and last teeth 36 are preferably wider than the other teeth toreduce the likelihood of damaging the teeth in the event that the petgrooming tool is dropped. Preferably there are between thirteen andfourteen of the teeth 24 per inch along the row of teeth and preferablythe tips 32 of the teeth are approximately an eighth of an inch belowthe edge segments 30 of the pet engageable portion 12.

The upper portion of the pet engageable portion 12 may optionallycomprise one or more openings 38 or other indentations. Such openings 38or indentations create cavities in the pet engageable portion 12 thatallow the handle portion 14 of the pet grooming tool 10 to be secured tothe pet engageable portion via interlocking geometry, but are notnecessary if the handle portion is melt bonded to the pet engageableportion.

After the pet engageable portion 12 has been formed, it is preferablyplaced in another mold into which another polymeric material isinjection molded to form the handle portion 14. The polymeric materialused to form the handle portion 14 can be any one of commonly usedengineering plastics such as ABS, nylon, and polypropylene, and ispreferably less expensive than the polymeric material used to form thepet engageable portion. Notably, the material used to form the handleportion 14 needs not be as creep resistant nor have as high a yieldstrength as the material used to form the pet engageable portion 12.Preferably however, the polymeric material used to form the handleportion 14 has a melt temperature close to that of the polymericmaterial used to form the pet engageable portion 12 such that thematerials become melt-bonded to each other when the handle portion isformed. Alternatively, the pet engageable portion 12 can be providedwith cavities, such as the openings 38 shown in FIG. 6, so that thehandle portion 14 becomes geometrically interlocked with the petengageable portion when formed therearound.

The mold used to form the handle portion 14 is preferably shaped suchthat, when formed, the handle portion comprises a base portion 40 thatencircles the upper portion of the pet engageable portion 12, and anelongate portion 42 extending therefrom. The elongate portion 42 of thehandle portion 14 is preferably shaped to be grasped comfortably byhand. Additionally, the elongate portion 42 preferably comprises aplurality of recessed areas 44 and a through-hole 46 at its distal end.The through-hole is provided simply to provide means for hanging the petgrooming tool 10 from a hook or the like, and for provided means forattaching a lanyard to the pet grooming tool.

After forming the handle portion 14 of the pet grooming tool 10, theassembly of the handle portion 14 and the pet engageable portion 12 isthen placed in yet another mold. This mold preferably has a shapesimilar to the mold used to form the handle portion 14, except at areaswhere the recesses on the handle portion are located. This mold isconfigured so that yet another polymeric material, such as thermoplasticpolyurethane, styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene copolymer, copolyesters,copolyamides, thermoplastic rubber, or thermoplastic vulcanate, can beinjected molded into the recessed areas 44 of the handle portion 14 toform the grip portion 16 of the pet grooming tool 10. The grip portion16 preferably has an outer contour that meets flush with the outercontour of the handle portion adjacent the recessed areas 44. Thepolymeric material used to form the grip portion 16 preferably is softerthan the polymeric material used to form the handle portion 14 andpreferably has a higher coefficient of friction. As such, the gripportion 16 increases the comfort and improves the grip when grasping thepet grooming tool 10.

The pet grooming tool 10 is preferably utilized to remove loose hairfrom a furry pet, such as a dog or cat, without cutting or pullingnon-loose hair from the pet. In use, a person grasps the handle portion14 of the pet grooming tool 10 and presses the pet engageable portion 12of the tool into the fur of a pet. Preferably the pet grooming tool 10is held in a manner such that rear surface 18 of the pet engageableportion 12 is generally perpendicular to the skin of the furry pet. Thepet grooming tool is then preferably pulled in a manner such that thefront surface 20 of the pet engageable portion 12 trials behind the rearsurface 18 of the pet engageable portion. As the pet grooming tool 10 ispulled, both loose and non-loose hair passes between the teeth 24 of thepet engageable portion 12. The acute angle of edge segments 30facilitates the ability of the pet engageable portion 12 to pull theloose hair from the pet without also cutting or pulling non-loose hairfrom the pet. Additionally, the acute shape of the tips 32 of the teeth24 helps channel hair into the voids between the teeth 24, whereasblunter teeth would otherwise tend to mash hair against the skin of thepet.

While the present invention has been described in reference to aspecific embodiment, in light of the foregoing, it should be understoodthat all matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawings is intended to be interpreted as illustrative andnot in a limiting sense and that various modifications and variations ofthe invention may be constructed without departing from the scope of theinvention defined by the following claims. Thus, other possiblevariations and modifications should be appreciated.

Furthermore, it should be understood that when introducing elements ofthe present invention in the claims or in the above description of thepreferred embodiment of the invention, the terms “comprising,”“including,” and “having” are intended to be open-ended and mean thatthere may be additional elements other than the listed elements.Additionally, the term “portion” should be construed as meaning some orall of the item or element that it qualifies. Moreover, use ofidentifiers such as first, second, and third should not be construed ina manner imposing any relative position or time sequence betweenlimitations. Still further, the order in which the steps of any methodclaim that follows are presented should not be construed in a mannerlimiting the order in which such steps must be performed.

1. A method comprising: injection molding a pet engageable portion of apet grooming tool out of a first polymeric material in a manner suchthat the pet engageable portion comprises a plurality of teeth arrangedin a row and in a manner such that the pet engageable portion comprisesat least one cavity; placing the pet engageable portion into aninjection molding cavity; injecting a second polymeric material into theinjection molding cavity while the pet engageable portion is in the moldcavity in a manner forming a handle portion out of the second polymericmaterial that is secured to the pet engageable portion and in a mannersuch that the handle portion is mechanically secured to the petengageable portion via interlocking geometry created by the at least onecavity, the second polymeric material being different from the firstpolymeric material.
 2. A method comprising: injection molding a petengageable portion of a pet grooming tool out of a first polymericmaterial in a manner such that the pet engageable portion comprises aplurality of teeth arranged in a row; placing the pet engageable portioninto an injection molding cavity; injecting a second polymeric materialinto the injection molding cavity while the pet engageable portion is inthe mold cavity in a manner forming a handle portion out of the secondpolymeric material that is secured to the pet engageable portion and ina manner such that the second polymeric material melts a surface of thepet engageable portion as the second polymeric material in injected intothe mold cavity and thereby creates a melt-bond between the handleportion and the pet engageable portion, the second polymeric materialbeing different from the first polymeric material wherein the firstpolymeric material has a first tensile yield strength and the secondpolymeric material has a second tensile yield strength, and wherein thefirst tensile strength is greater than the second tensile yeildstrength.
 3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the firstpolymeric material has a first tensile yield strength and the secondpolymeric material has a second tensile yield strength, and wherein thefirst tensile yield strength is greater than the second tensile yieldstrength.
 4. A method in accordance with claim 3 wherein the injectionmolding cavity constitutes a first injection molding cavity and whereinthe method further comprises steps of: placing the handle portion andthe pet engageable portion into a second injection molding cavity; andinjecting a third polymeric material into second injection moldingcavity while the pet engageable portion and the handle portion are inthe second injection molding cavity in a manner forming at least onehand-grip portion formed out of the third polymeric material and in amanner such that the third polymeric material melts at least one surfaceof the handle portion as the third polymeric material is injected intothe second injection molding cavity and thereby creates at least onemelt-bond between the handle portion and the at least one hand-gripportion, the third polymeric material being different form the first andsecond polymeric materials.
 5. A method in accordance with claim 1wherein the step of injection molding the pet engageable portion occursin a manner such that the pet engageable portion comprises a firstsurface and a plurality of intersecting surfaces, each of theintersecting surfaces intersects the first surface in a manner formingan acute edge segment, and the edge segments and the teeth alternatewith each other along the row.
 6. A method in accordance with claim 2wherein the injection molding cavity constitutes a first injectionmolding cavity and wherein the method further comprises steps of:placing the handle portion and the pet engageable portion into a secondinjection molding cavity; and injecting a third polymeric material intothe second injection molding cavity while the pet engageable portion andthe handle portion are in the second injection molding cavity in amanner forming at least one hand-grip portion formed out of the thirdpolymeric material and in a manner such that the third polymericmaterial melts at least one surface of the handle portion as the thirdpolymeric material is injected into the second injection molding cavityand thereby creates at least one melt-bond between the handle portionand the at least one hand grip portion, the third polymeric materialbeing different form the first and second polymeric materials.
 7. Amethod in accordance with claim 6 wherein the step of injection moldingthe pet engageable portion occurs in a manner such that the petengageable portion comprises a first surface and a plurality ofintersecting surfaces, each of the intersecting surfaces intersects thefirst surface in a manner forming an acute edge segment, and the edgesegments and the teeth alternate with each other along the row.
 8. Amethod in accordance with claim 2 wherein the step of injection moldingthe pet engageable portion occurs in a manner such that the petengageable portion comprises a first surface and a plurality ofintersecting surfaces, each of the intersecting surfaces intersects thefirst surface in a manner forming an acute edge segment, and the edgesegments and the teeth alternate with each other along the row.
 9. Amethod in accordance with claim 4 wherein the step of injection moldingthe pet engageable portion occurs in a manner such that the petengageable portion comprises a first surface and a plurality ofintersecting surfaces, each of the intersecting surfaces intersects thefirst surface in a manner forming an acute edge segment, and the edgesegments and the teeth alternate with each other along the row.